The state of Florida may be just under 1,700 miles away from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, but the Sunshine State will certainly be represented in a big way during Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.
A total of eight players from Florida colleges are on the active rosters for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles - four from the University of Florida, three from Florida State University and one from the University of Miami.
The Eagles, who won the NFC for the fourth time in franchise history, will have two players on the field in safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (Florida) and defensive end Josh Sweat (FSU). Johnson had six interceptions in the regular season while Sweat had a career high 11 sacks.
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The Chiefs, who will be playing in their fourth Super Bowl all-time this weekend, have a total of six players from Florida schools on the roster - defensive end Carlos Dunlap, wide receiver Kadarius Toney and punter Tommy Townsend (Florida), defensive end Joshua Kaindoh and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (FSU) and cornerback Deon Bush (Miami).
Dunlap will be playing in his first Super Bowl in his 13 seasons in the NFL while Toney is questionable for the game with an ankle and hamstring injury. Townsend averaged over 50 yards per punt this season while Nnadi, the only member of the group who was on the Super Bowl LIV winning team for Kansas City, had a sack in the Chiefs’ divisional round win over Jacksonville.
Only two of the eight players played high school football in Florida, with Townsend attending Orlando Boone High School while Bush graduated from Miami’s Christopher Columbus High School.
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If any of the eight players is named the Most Valuable Player for Super Bowl LVII, they would be the sixth from a Florida school to get the honor - joining former UM stars Otis Anderson (Super Bowl XXV) and Ray Lewis (Super Bowl XXXV), former FSU stars Fred Biletnikoff (Super Bowl XI) and Dexter Jackson (Super Bowl XXXVII) and former UF star Emmitt Smith (super Bowl XXVIII).
